Not to argue with you but how much do you know about cryptocurrency? Did you know Bitcoin is under the umbrella of cryptocurrency? Bitcoin is known as cryptocurrency and altcoin is another part of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency can be centralized or decentralized depending on the developers control on the Blockchain but originally it is decentralized because the first cryptocurrency that is still existing is Bitcoin. With that, in this lesson Bitcoin is taken as example of a cryptocurrency so I do not think there is wrong about the authors explanation. The fact that your understanding about cryptocurrency is moot, I do not think that there is more on what you are saying. I do respect your point of view but straighten it out first before uttering non-sense stuff. else keep it by yourself and don't mislead anyone that cryptocurrency is only shitcoins.
Currently there's 22,099 coins on coinmarketcap, while Bitcoin is just 1 from 22,099 coins. This mean 22,098 are altcoins which is cryptocurrencies in general. If the authors want to discuss about Bitcoin, he need to wrote "Bitcoin", not "cryptocurrencies" since it's general and full of shitcoins. Write "cryptocurrencies" and explain it's about "Bitcoin" are completely misleading their users, don't mix about it.
Just tell me whether Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency or not. If you can prove to me that Bitcoin isn't a cryptocurrency then by all means I'll acknowledge that I am wrong. Besides Bitcoin often represents cryptocurrencies.
Note the word heavily determined, the article does not say the only one to determine... see the difference? Of course there are several factor that determine the price, value and utility of a cryptocurrency, these are the demand and supply. Never factor out the demand because without the demand, no matter how little your supply is it will be worthless. Now taking the situation in the same ground, both have the same amount of demand but Coin A has more circulating coins than Coin B. which do you think have higher price? Which do you think have better value and which one would you think that has better utility?
In the given example it simply shows that supply heavily determined the utility and value of a coins.
Heavily determined mean at least 51% the utility and value about the coin are came from supply.
Also utility and value are different with price, utility is the purpose of the coin, value is the uniqueness, while price is just price which can be easily get manipulated if you're centralized and a whale. A shitcoin can have a fixed supply, but there's no utility and value because they're centralized and copycat.
Utility from definition :
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FORChK2E.png&t=665&c=aDGi_aDzHTLIzg)
I do not need to reiterate, that image simply tells what utility is. When you talk about profitability, it automatically include pricing or value. Just give facts not personal assumption
![Smiley](https://bitcointalk.org/Smileys/default/smiley.gif)
. No one is denying that many altcoin are presumed centralized because of their nature of governance.
Also utility and value are different with price, utility is the purpose of the coin, value is the uniqueness, while price is just price which can be easily get manipulated if you're centralized and a whale. A shitcoin can have a fixed supply, but there's no utility and value because they're centralized and copycat.
Just read my reply on the factor determining the value of a cryptocurrency. I also state no matter how scarce your coins is as long as there is no demand for it, it will be worthless
Never factor out the demand because without the demand, no matter how little your supply is it will be worthless.
Demand gives value while supply saturates that value. So it is a wrong assumption that supply gives value to the coin but
how much it worth when there is a demand depends on the coin saturation or coin supply.
there's no utility and value because they're centralized and copycat.
It is not because it is a copycat but because it has no demand.